On World Photography Day, Greenpeace celebrates the power of photography to inspire action and speak truth to power.

It’s a tough call to select 10 images from the more than 18,000 that Greenpeace has produced in the last 12 months. But this selection gave me a chance to look back at the amazing work that’s happening across the world.

These are not the most beautiful images, but they represent the diversity of the movement. They are a testimony to the courage and willingness of people power to fight for a better future. They define the role of photography in activism. They have the power to transfer the energy and emotions to its audiences; to tell a story that is untold or an event that cannot be put in words.

We have images from Indigenous communities in the Amazon to coral reefs in Australia, from forest fires in Indonesia to inspiring protests by grandparents in Japan. This was also the year when world leaders finally agreed to take steps towards controlling climate change after thousands of people marched across cities around the world to break free from fossil fuels.

Tell us which one is your favourite in the comments!

The Munduruku people have inhabited the Sawré Muybu in the heart of the Amazon, for generations. The Brazilian government had planned to build a series of dams in the Tapajos River basin, which would severely threaten their way of life. In addition to preserving their way of life, the demarcation of Sawré Muybu ensures the conservation of 178,000 hectares of Amazonian rainforest.

The Munduruku people have inhabited the Sawré Muybu in the heart of the Amazon, for generations. The Brazilian government had planned to build a series of dams in the Tapajos River basin, which would severely threaten their way of life. In addition to preserving their way of life, the demarcation of Sawré Muybu ensures the conservation of 178,000 hectares of Amazonian rainforest.

People hold hands on a beach in Molyvos, Lesbos, calling for safe passage and no more deaths. The activity was held in solidarity with other protests across Europe, as thousands of people in more than 100 cities marched in support of refugee rights.

People hold hands on a beach in Molyvos, Lesbos, calling for safe passage and no more deaths. The activity was held in solidarity with other protests across Europe, as thousands of people in more than 100 cities marched in support of refugee rights.

Paris Climate Talks

As the Paris climate conference entered the closing stretch, Greenpeace activists created a solar symbol around the world-famous Paris landmark, the Arc de Triomphe, by painting the roads yellow with a non-polluting water-based paint to reveal the image of a huge shining sun.

This image has been seen in many international medias and shared a lot on social medias, reminding people, but especially politicians and governments that whatever they agree in Paris, the only credible way to beat climate change is to support and increase renewables energy systems.

Drone footage

Drone footage revealed the impact of repeated fires on the forest near the PT Bumi Sawit Sejahtera (IOI) oil palm concession in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Plantation for palm oil are one of the biggest drivers of deforestation and peatland draining - a practise that can lead to forest fires.

Fad

Aerial view of a FAD (fish aggregating device) at night. Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, was in the Indian Ocean to document and peacefully oppose destructive fishing practices.

Tuna

Albacore tuna is stacked and weighed before being shipped for processing into canned tuna. Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, spent month in the Pacific Ocean in 2015 to expose illegal and undocumented fishing operations. Tuna fishing has been linked to shark finning, overfishing, and human rights abuses.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is experiencing its worst bleaching event to date with studies showing 93 percent of the reef being affected. Bleaching is caused by the warmer temperature of the waters brought about by the El Nino system.

Parts of the reef have been damaged by cyclones, the severity, and frequency of which will also increase as global temperatures rise.

Okinawa, Japan

A US military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa has been a source of conflict for decades. The expansion of one base will wipe out the seagrass bed which is home to the few remaining Japanese dugong.

The vast majority of the local community are against the expansion of the military bases. In this image taken from protests in 2015, police carried elderly protesters away from the entrance of Camp Schwab. Many of the protestors are elderly people who try to block the entrance using their bodies.

Break Free

A protester wears a farmer's hat with the words "Break Free" during a protest in front of Japanese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. Thousands of people took to the streets in a carnival atmosphere to urge the government to end Indonesia’s addiction to coal.

The demonstration was organised by WALHI, Greenpeace, and JATAM. The marchers carried banners calling for Indonesia to reject coal in favour of clean renewable energy, and to honour, the commitment made in the Paris Agreement last year to reduce the country’s carbon emissions.

Acclaimed Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi performs in the Arctic

Acclaimed Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi performs one of his own compositions on a floating platform in the Arctic Ocean, in front of the Wahlenbergbreen glacier (in Svalbard, Norway).

The composition, Elegy for the Arctic, was inspired by eight million voices from around the world calling for Arctic protection. The Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise carried Einaudi, the grand piano, and eight million voices to Svalbard. Greenpeace was urging the OSPAR Commission, not to miss the opportunity to protect international Arctic waters under its mandate.

And we've added this one from New Zealand because we think it's such a powerful image that speaks volumes about the power of mass civil disobedience.

Auckland Oil Conference Mass Civil Disobedience

More than 200 people descended on New Zealand’s largest oil industry conference in Auckland and blocked its entrances as part of a Greenpeace-organised demonstration of peaceful civil disobedience. It‘s the first time in New Zealand that Greenpeace has invited the general public to take civil disobedience action en masse.

Sudhanshu Malhotra is the Multimedia Editor for Asia Pacific, based in Greenpeace East Asia